Firm:

Topel & DiStasi Wealth Management

Job Title:

Financial Advisor

Biography:

Jarrett Topel is a financial advisor located in Berkeley, CA with over 20 years of experience in financial services. He brings a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise in delivering personalized financial planning and investment strategies to clients.

In his work as a financial advisor, Jarrett strives to help clients more fully enjoy the lives they have worked hard to build, by providing a partner in their journey towards financial independence.

Prior to co-founding Topel & DiStasi Wealth Management, Jarrett worked in various capacities in the financial services industry, giving him a broad perspective of the complex issues clients face today. He began his professional career at Smith Barney in 1994, then moved on to tax consulting and tax preparation work for a small boutique firm, ConsulTax, in Oakland, CA. Jarrett joined American Express Financial Advisors in 1999, and started his own firm as a franchisee of American Express Financial Advisors in 2003. Later that year, Jarrett earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation (CFP®) and, since then, has continued to expand his knowledge base and skills set through continuing education and the attainment of advanced degrees and professional designations.

Jarrett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance from San Francisco State University, a Certificate in Personal Financial Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters of Science in Financial Planning from Golden Gate University.

A lifelong Bay Area resident, Jarrett currently lives in Oakland, CA with his wife and two children.

Education:

BS, Business Administration, San Francisco State UniversityMS, Financial Planning, Golden Gate University

Yes, possible and legal. However, please note, this absolutely does not insure you a profit. First, there is no guarantee that the stock will go up after you buy it. What if it goes down instead? Also, there is a "bid-ask" spread on stocks, especially smaller thinly traded stocks, so at any given time, if you were to buy and sell a stock at the same time (or sell very soon after buying), you would pay a higher price for buying then you would receive for selling. (This is how "Market Makers" earn their money.) Finally, it is likely you will pay a commission each time you trade (or some type of fee), so you have to earn money above this commission/fee to have a gain. So, for your strategy to work, the stock must rise and it must rise by enough to cover the bid-ask spread and the commission/fee. And, yes, there is a name for this. It is called "Day-Trading" and is almost a guaranteed failure for the average non-institutional investor.

First, make sure you keep cash reserves (in the bank) of 3 - 6 months worth of living expenses (net of taxes and savings). Second, pay-down/off any debt that is costing you five percent or more, starting with the highest interest rate loan(s). Finally, if there is still money left over, or when money become available in the future, that you don't need for cash reserves and don't need for the next 5 years (and hopefully longer), invest and stay invested no matter what happens in the markets.

First, make sure you have cash reserves (in the bank) of 3 - 6 months’ worth of living expenses (net of taxes and savings). Second, pay off any/all debt (student loans, credit cards, etc...) that is costing you more that 5% per year. Finally, invest at least enough into your 401(k) to get the maximum match, and if you can save more, even better.

First, before doing either of these, make sure you keep cash reserves (in the bank) of 3 - 6 months’ worth of living expenses (net of taxes and savings). Then, if your student loans are costing you 5% or less, pay them down as slowly as you can and invest your discretionary income towards your long-term goals (5 years or more). If your loans are at 6% or higher, then you might want to pay them-off sooner, as it possible to make 6%+ investing, but only with a significant amount of risk. If your loans are at 8% or more, then absolutely pay them off as fast as you can.

Assuming you received a tax-deduction for the entire $15,000 in contributions to your Traditional IRA, if/when you convert to a Roth IRA, you will pay taxes on the value at the time of conversion (in this example $10,000). It is advantageous to convert to a Roth if you will be in a higher tax-bracket when you eventually withdraw funds. If you will be in a lower tax bracket when you eventually withdraw funds, it would have been better to have kept your money in the Traditional IRA.

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June 2018

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